Earlier this week I had business in Wenatchee, one hundred miles south of here. It was still cold and clear but down there it was ten degrees warmer – almost balmy since I’ve grown used to the cold temperatures. My car needed servicing and when I made the appointment the lady said it would take about an hour so I planned to wait for it. When I arrived she said two hours – there was a recall I didn’t know about. Darn. So I gathered my wits, my binoculars, my little camera (yes, I travel with a lot of stuff, luckily this time I didn’t take a dog) hat and gloves, and went for a walk. The car dealership is located near the confluence of the Wenatchee and Columbia Rivers in an area that has become fairly industrialized. It seems ironic to me because in its natural state this place would have been full of birds and other wildlife. The native Americans had celebrations and horse races in this area. In the 1900’s it became a busy area for orchards. And now it has fruit warehouses, port buildings, a mail distribution center and various businesses like the car dealerships. One good thing is that the PUD bought some of the land at the confluence as mitigation for the hydro power dams on the river and turned it into a state park named appropriately enough, Confluence State Park. That was the destination for my walk.
Trucks lined up and waiting to be filled with boxes of apples
Some apples travel by rail
Now why would someone frame their license plate with skulls?
Smart?
More litter
Some places have nice trees but why plant invasive ivy at their base?
Same birch tree looking up
Plaid logo
At the park, there are acres and acres of grass near the rivers. This is perfect habitat for Canada Geese.
There’s a feeder in those trees. I saw Song Sparrows, Spotted Towhees, Black-capped Chickadees, House Finches and other small birds.
This is a terrific pedestrian bridge across the Wenatchee River. It is an important link in the Apple Capital Loop Trail.
Looking down the Wenatchee towards the Columbia with East Wenatchee in the distance
The ice on the right side of this image is broken and moving with the current while the ice on the left is still.
Lookin up the Wenatchee at the railroad bridge and then the highway bridge
Here you can see the moving ice on the left. When I was returning to my car, the ice on the right was cracking as water behind one of the dams began to back up into the Wenatchee River. Not only could I hear the cracking, I could watch cracks form. I could have stayed there all day.
Endless patterns
When I got to my car I discovered that my lens cap was missing. This tiny thing was sure to be difficult to replace so I retraced my steps and spotted it where I had crossed the busy arterial. It had been run over but is still functional.
While I was at first disappointed to learn that my car was going to take longer than expected, I had a great walk in brisk sunny weather and really felt refreshed by it. Some sights were not pretty but the beauty of the rivers more than made up for that.
My Everyday Photos 